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Home-made inventions from China

He Liang rides his home-made suitcase vehicle along a street in Changsha, Hunan province on May 28, 2014. He spent 10 years modifying the suitcase into a motor-driven vehicle. The suitcase has a top speed of up to 20km/h and the power capacity to travel up to 50-60km after one charge, according to local media. (REUTERS/China Daily)

Chinese inventor Liu Qiyuan speaks on his mobile phone as he sits in his spherical pod named “Noah’s Ark” in Xianghe, Hebei province on Dec. 12, 2012. Liu, who has spent 1.8 million yuan ($288,000) on building six “Noah’s Ark”s in 8 months with the help of his former furniture factory’s workers, is working on his seventh pod. The 17 cubic-meter volume vessels were built to serve as lifeboats in the event of earthquakes, tsunamis and floods. (REUTERS/Petar Kujundzic)

Luo Jinsha operates his home-made aircraft during a test flight on the outskirts of Shanghai on Feb. 26, 2014. Luo, 28, a migrant worker living in Shanghai, spent around eight months and 40,000 yuan ($6,529) to build the plane to fulfill his dream to fly. Despite failing during the first test flight, Luo said he will not give up hope on improving his plane so as to eventually fly it successfully. The aircraft was able to move quickly on the ground but could not take to the air on second attempt. (REUTERS/Aly Song)

Luo Jinsha operates his home-made aircraft during a test flight on the outskirts of Shanghai on Feb. 26, 2014. Luo, 28, a migrant worker living in Shanghai, spent around eight months and 40,000 yuan ($6,529) to build the plane to fulfill his dream to fly. Despite failing during the first test flight, Luo said he will not give up hope on improving his plane so as to eventually fly it successfully. The aircraft was able to move quickly on the ground but could not take to the air on second attempt. (REUTERS/Aly Song)

Luo Jinsha operates his home-made aircraft during a test flight on the outskirts of Shanghai on Feb. 26, 2014. Luo, 28, a migrant worker living in Shanghai, spent around eight months and 40,000 yuan ($6,529) to build the plane to fulfill his dream to fly. Despite failing during the first test flight, Luo said he will not give up hope on improving his plane so as to eventually fly it successfully. The aircraft was able to move quickly on the ground but could not take to the air on second attempt. (REUTERS/Aly Song)

Jian Lin, a 31-year-old farmer who used to serve in the Chinese navy, waves in his home-made replica of a tank during a trial run, at a village in Mianzhu, Sichuan province on April 9, 2014. The “tank”, which measures 4.5m long (15 feet), 1.6m wide (5 feet) and 2.1m high (7 feet), weighs nearly 3 tons and cost Jian about 40,000 yuan ($6,450) to make, local media reported. (Reuters photo)

Zhang Wuyi sits in his double-seater submarine during a test operation at an artificial pool near a shipyard in Wuhan, Hubei province on May 7, 2012. Zhang, a 37-year-old local farmer, who is interested in scientific inventions, has made six miniature submarines with several fellow engineers, one of which was sold to a businessman in Dalian at a price of 100,000 yuan ($15,855) last October. The submarines, mainly designed for harvesting aquatic products, such as sea cucumber, have a diving depth of 20-30 meters, and can travel for 10 hours, local media reported. (Reuters photo)

A worker paints a single-seater submarine designed by Zhang Wuyi and his fellow engineers at a shipyard in Wuhan, Hubei province on May 7, 2012. Zhang, a 37-year-old local farmer, who is interested in scientific inventions, has made six miniature submarines with several fellow engineers, one of which was sold to a businessman in Dalian at a price of 100,000 yuan ($15,855) last October. The submarines, mainly designed for harvesting aquatic products, such as sea cucumber, have a diving depth of 20-30 metres, and can travel for 10 hours, local media reported. (Reuters photo)

A Chinese inventor, Yang Zongfu, celebrates on his six-ton (5,443 kg) ball container named Noah’s Ark of China after he succeeds in a series of tests of the vessel in Yiwu, Zhejiang province on August 6, 2012. According to local media, Yang spent two years and 1.5 million RMB (235,585 USD) to build this four-meter diameter vessel, which has been tested capable of housing a three-person family and sufficient food for them to live in 10 months. The vessel was designed to protect people inside from external heat, water and external impact. (REUTERS/China Daily)

Sun Jifa moves a brick as he works to build his new house in Yong Ji county, Jilin province, on Sept. 25, 2012. Chinese farmer Sun, who lost his forearms in a dynamite fishing accident 32 years ago, could not afford to buy prosthesis. He spent two years guiding his two nephews to build him prosthesis from scrap metal, plastic and rubber. Over the years, Sun and his nephews have built about 300 prosthetic limbs for people in need, charging 3000 RMB ($476) each. (REUTERS/Sheng Li)

Farmer Wu Yulu drives his rickshaw pulled by a his home-made walking robot near his home in a village at the outskirts of Beijing on Jan. 8, 2009. This robot is the latest and largest development of hobby inventor Wu, who started to build robots in 1986, made of wire, metal, screws and nails found in rubbish sites. (REUTERS/Reinhard Krause)

Tian Shengying (right), a 55-year-old blacksmith, adjusts the rotor of the helicopter, in Shenyang, Liaoning province on Sept. 21, 2012. Tian built the bottom, body, tail and rotor of the helicopter single-handedly without a detailed blueprint in just half a month after receiving a request by an unmanned aircraft research center. (REUTERS/Sheng Li)

A woman rides an unicycle at a park in Shanghai on Feb. 28, 2004. The unicycle was designed several years ago by Chinese inventor Li Yongli, who called it “the number one vehicle in the world.” (Reuters photo)

Tao Xiangli stands on his homemade submarine in a courtyard in Beijing on July 10, 2008. The amateur inventor says his submarine is made from old oil barrels but fully functional with a periscope, depth control tanks, electric motors and two propellers. (REUTERS/Reinhard Krause)

Ding Shilu tests the engine of his home-made aircraft before conducting a test flight on the outskirts of Shenyang, Liaoning province, on Aug. 6. 2013. Ding, a 65-year-old migrant worker, spent around 2,000 yuan ($327) to build this 5-meter-long, 4.5-meter-high plane using components from motorcycles and electric bicycles. Ding failed his fourth test flight on Tuesday since he started his project four years ago, local media reported. (REUTERS/Sheng Li)

Chinese inventor Tao Xiangli controls his home-made humanoid robot with a remote controller as he poses with it during a photo opportunity at his house located in a old residential area in Beijing on Aug. 8, 2013. The self-taught Chinese inventor built the home-made robot, named “The King of Innovation”, out of scrap metal and electronic wires that he bought from a second-hand market. Tao completed his creation in less than a year, with costs of production and living expenses amounting to 300,000 yuan ($49,037). However, the robot, which measures 2.1 meters (6.9 feet) in height and 480 kg (1058 lbs) in weight, turned out to be too tall and heavy to walk out of the front door of his house. It can perform simple movements with its hands and legs and also mimic human voices. (REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon)

Zhang Haiyong adjusts his home-made plane in Binzhou, Shandong province, on Oct. 17, 2013. Zhang, 30, spent five months and more than 8,000 yuan ($1312.80) to build the plane made from steel bars, canvas and used car engines. During test flights, the plane was able to fly two to three meters above ground during, local media reported. (REUTERS/China Daily)

A home-made car built by Zhu Runqiang (not pictured) is seen in Hefei, Anhui province, on Oct. 21, 2013. Grassroots inventor Zhu, 47, built the car with components he collected from used vehicles. The car reaches a highest speed of 60km/h, according to local media. (REUTERS/China Daily)

Wen Jiaquan (second from left), 54-year-old motorcycle mechanic, moves his home-made helicopter in Qingping township of Chongqing municipality, on July 28, 2013. Wen and his family spent over 10,000 yuan (1,630 USD) and more than three months to build this 4.2-meter-long, 2.8-meter-high helicopter using mostly motorcycle components and a used car engine, local media reported. (Reuters photo)

A man drives an improvised tractor with 12 brooms tied in the rear, as he tries to clean a road in Mohe, Heilongjiang province, on Aug. 31, 2013. (Reuters photo)

A Chinese flag is seen as Liu Wanyong performs on his invention, an improvised bicycle which is held afloat by plastic tubes, in Zhenning, Guizhou province, on Aug. 29, 2013. (Reuters photo)

Students open the top of a newly made fuel-efficient vehicle on a street inside Hunan University after a test drive in Changsha, Hunan province on Oct. 8, 2013. A group of students at Hunan University designed and made the 2.85-meter-long innovative vehicle, which travels up to a maximum speed of 60km/h (37m/h), in six months with the cost of about 50,000 yuan ($8,168). The fuel-efficient vehicle, which is about 50 kilogram (110 lb) in weight, is able to travel 100 kilometers (62 miles) with one liter of gasoline, according to local media. (REUTERS photo)

Guo, a farmer in his 50s, drives his home-made scale replica of a Lamborghini with his grandson on a street in Zhengzhou, Henan province on Feb. 19, 2014. Guo spent 6 months and about 5,000 yuan (821 USD) to make the 2-metre-long, 1 meter-wide “Lamborghini” as a toy for his grandson. The replica, mainly made of scrapped metals and parts from electricity bicycles, bears five sets of batteries and can travel as far as 60 km (37 miles) when fully charged, local media reported. (REUTERS/China Daily)

Guo, a farmer in his 50s, looks on as his grandson gets on a scaled replica of a Lamborghini made by Guo, on a street in Zhengzhou, Henan province on Feb. 19, 2014. Guo spent 6 months and about 5,000 yuan (821 USD) to make the 2-meter-long, 1 meter-wide “Lamborghini” as a toy for his grandson. The replica, mainly made of scrapped metals and parts from electricity bicycles, bears five sets of batteries and can travel as far as 60 km (37 miles) when fully charged, local media reported. (REUTERS/China Daily)

Zhang Wuyi looks up as he squats under a suction pipe of his new submarine that captures sea cucumbers at his workshop in Wuhan, Hubei province, March 25, 2013. Zhang, a 38-year-old local farmer who is interested in scientific inventions, has independently made eight miniature submarines with several fellow engineers, one of which was sold to a businessman in Dalian at a price of 100,000 yuan ($15,855) in 2011. The submarines, mainly designed for harvesting aquatic products, such as sea cucumber, have a diving depth of 20-30 metres (66-98 feet), and can travel for 10 hours, local media reported. (Reuters photo)

A worker climbs up from Zhang Wuyi’s newly designed unmanned submarine that captures sea cucumbers, during a test operation at an artificial pool near a shipyard in Wuhan, Hubei province, March 26, 2013. Zhang, a 38-year-old local farmer who is interested in scientific inventions, has independently made eight miniature submarines with several fellow engineers, one of which was sold to a businessman in Dalian at a price of 100,000 yuan ($15,855) in 2011. The submarines, mainly designed for harvesting aquatic products, such as sea cucumber, have a diving depth of 20-30 metres (66-98 feet), and can travel for 10 hours, local media reported. (Reuters photo)

An ethnic Uighur man Abulajon drives his home-made motorcycle during a test in Manas county, Xinjiang Uighur autonomous region, April 27, 2013. Abulajon, a 30-year-old Uighur worker from a sewage treatment plant, spent a year making his 0.3 tonnes motorcycle measuring 4.3 meters (14 feet) in length and 2.4 meters (7.8 feet) in height, although it makes it impossible for him to drive it on the street. It cost him about 8000 yuan ($1300) to buy all the parts from salvage stations and the converted engine can power the motorcycle with a speed of 40 km per hour (24.8 miles per hour), local media reported. (REUTERS/China Daily)

Zhao Xiuguo drives a homemade model of Formula One car in Tangshan, Hebei Province, some 180km (113 miles) east of Beijing on July 21, 2006. Zhao Xiuguo and his brother Zhao Xiushun built the car from scrap metal and said that they wanted to design and build the first Formula One racecar in China. (REUTERS/Claro Cortes IV)

Gao Hanjie installs the rotor blades on his homemade helicopter in Shenyang, Liaoning province June 9, 2010. The graphic designer and helicopter enthusiast, with help from his friends, has spent more than a month building the 6-meter-long and 350kg helicopter. Gao claims he will eventually fly the contraption as a personal project according to local media. (REUTERS/Sheng Li)

Ding Shilu, an automobile mechanic, carries out a test-flight for his home-made aircraft at a frozen reservoir in Shenyang, Liaoning province on Feb. 25, 2011. The aircraft, which weighs about 130 kg (287 lbs) and is made of recycled materials including three motorbike engines and plastic cloth, costs about 2600 yuan ($395), local media reported. (Reuters photo)

A worker polishes the surface of an unfinished miniature submarine at a workshop of Zhang Wuyi, a local farmer who is interested in scientific inventions, in Qingling village, on the outskirts of Wuhan, capital of central China’s Hubei province on Aug. 29, 2011. Zhang has successfully tested his home-made miniature submarine “Shuguang Hao”, which is 3.6 m (12 feet) long, 1.8 m (6 feet) high, has a maximum diving depth of 20 m (65 feet), can travel at a speed of 20 km per hour for 10 hours underwater and is shaped as a dolphin. “I hope to sell my submarine as a civil product with the price of about 100,000 yuan ($15,670) after safety tests, and a merchant has decided to order one in this month”, Zhang said. (REUTERS/Jason Lee)

Local farmer Shu Mansheng hovers above the ground in his self-designed and homemade flying device during a test flight in front of his house in Dashu village on the outskirts of Wuhan, Hubei province on Sept. 21, 2011. The round steel flying device, which cost more than 20,000 yuan ($3,135), is the fifth model made by Shu, a junior middle school graduate. It measures around 5.5 meters (18 feet) in diameter, and is powered by eight motorcycle engines. Shu managed to hover for 10 seconds at about 1 meter (3.3 feet) above ground during a recent test flight. (Reuters photo)

Li Jingchun (top), a 58-year-old farmer, looks on as his family members work on his home-made aircraft on top of his house in Xiahe village located in Shenyang, Liaoning province on Feb. 28, 2012. The 5m long, 1.5m wide plane, mostly made of recycled iron plates, cost the aircraft enthusiast and his family two years and more than 40,000 yuan ($6,349), according to local media. (REUTERS/Sheng Li)

Zhang Wuyi sits in his newly made multi-seater submarine at his new workshop near an artificial pool in Wuhan, Hubei province, on Nov. 14, 2012. Zhang, a 37-year-old local farmer, who is interested in scientific inventions, has independently made seven miniature submarines with several fellow engineers, one of which was sold to a businessman in Dalian at a price of 100,000 yuan ($15,855) last October. The submarines, mainly designed for harvesting aquatic products, such as sea cucumber, have a diving depth of 20-30 meters (66-98 feet), and can travel for 10 hours, local media reported. (Reuters photo)

Zhang Xuelin sits inside his home-made aircraft at his home before its test flight in Jinan, Shandong province, on Nov. 28, 2012. Zhang, a farmer who dropped out of primary school in his early years, spent around 2,000 yuan ($321) to build a plane around a motorcycle, using wood and plastic boards. The plane, which took 11 months to build, failed in its test flight. (REUTERS/China Daily)

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